leibster award :)

i was nominated for a liebster award by the beautiful abbi at 'below the waist' (check out her blog for great hair care and beauty tips!)

i'm not gonna lie, i had no idea what a liebster award was but after a quick google search, all was revealed.
so, enough with the lollygagging.

here are eleven "interesting" facts about me...
one - i am a fount of useless information.
for example, did you know before peter pan was written, the name 'wendy' never existed?
or that dr. seuss coined the term 'nerd'?

hey girl, hey!

two - after watching the miniseries "the jacksons: an american dream", i wanted to have a bunch of children so that they could start their very own band.

but i've since come to my senses and now would like 3 or 4 kids.
they can still start a band though if they'd like.

♫ stop,  the love you save may be your own... #chune

three - i used to run track back in high school but i don't trick off the track right by school

those bangs though, lol.

four - when i was seventeen, i did a summer exchange to france.
i almost died on my way home but made life long friends, so it was worth it :)

sarah (who is a super talented artist), moi et virginie a montreal octobre 2012.

five - je parle français, oui oui.

six - "more times", i'm just looking for that 'corey & topanga' kind of love.

"topanga, if i had to dream up the perfect woman,

she wouldn't even come close to you."

seven - i love me some musicals and was actually in a production of 'hairspray' a couple years ago.

lil' inez and the 'nicest girls' in our dressing room.

eight - i am celine dion's biggest fan.

hashtag WERK!

nine - that "haunted mask" episode of goosebumps gave me nightmares for years.

*shudders

ten - my childhood dream was to become an olympic figure skater.
i wanted to be the first person to ever land a quintuple lutz - that's right, FIVE revolutions.
i had my whole routine choreographed to celine dion's "power of love" - ♫ cause i'm your (quint lutz and lands) ladayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy ♫ - and had actual dreams of people chanting "vanessa, vanessa" as i received my gold medal...

but then my parents recalled this incident with figure skater surya bonaly and decided it would be best to stick with track as it was less subjective, if you know what i mean...

maybe in another life, young vaness.

eleven - i know this entire routine by heart.

♫ by the way, what have you done for him lately?

ooooooooh yeah ♫

now, to answer abbi's eleven questions:
one - what's your goal (length or otherwise) for your hair?
ultimately, i just want to be completely self-sufficient when it comes to doing my own hair.
the prices salons in toronto charge are ludicrous and i'm never satisfied, so i would love to be able to take matters into my own hands.

two - what do you love most about your hair?
the color - it's naturally a lighter brown with goldish (?) highlights.
it makes shopping for hair extensions a nightmare but i love it just the same.

three - what's your favorite deep conditioner?
carol's daughter moisturizing hair smoothie in black vanilla - it works and smells delicious!

four - what's your hairstyle at this very moment?
my hair is currently in a high bun.

five - what's number one on your bucket list?
get married and have kids.

six - how many blogs do you follow?
11.

seven - what's on your christmas wishlist?
i really want to redecorate my room, so i'll say gift cards to ikea!

eight - how will you spend this christmas?
with my lovely family eating yummy food :)

nine - name an interest besides blogging.
i quite enjoy acting - i'm fairly boring in life, so i find it's fun to pretend to be someone else for a bit.

ten - one place (country or city) you'd like to visit.
bali or bora bora.
hell, i'll take florida just to get away from this chilly toronto weather.

eleven - have you ever been to jamaica? would you like to go?
i've never been to jamaica but would love to go!

i've had friends who've been to resorts in ochos rios and negril, and their photos look beautiful!
i mean, i'd be fine waking up to this every morning:

plus, there's the love i have for jerk chicken...


now, for my nominations...
i'd like to nominate:
jennifer of future lawyer girl
elle of elle mejia
josie of straightNOchase
faith of life.love&marriage
georgina of notes on lifestyle

* i thoroughly enjoy reading each and every one of these blogs.
whether it's becoming a wife, mother, lawyer or author, these ladies are all working extremely hard to achieve their dream and i find that so inspiring.
so, i thought i'd pick their brains a bit, haha.

the rules:
- link back to the blogger who presented the award to you
- paste the award on your blog
- choose 5 blogs to pass this award to (they must have fewer than 200 followers)
- let the recipients know about their nomination by leaving a comment on their blogs
- write 11 interesting facts about you
- answer my 11 questions

my questions:
one - which person, dead or alive, would you like to have dinner with and why?
two - what is your favorite memory?
three - what new technology have you found most helpful in life?
four - what new technology have you found most annoying?
five - what is an important lesson you've learned, thus far, in life?
six - if you could go back and tell your teenage self anything, what would it be?
seven - what world event has impacted you the most?
eight - is there anything you have always wanted to do but never have?
nine - what's your favorite quote or motto?
ten - who is the person who influenced your life the most?
eleven - how would you like to be remembered?

well, this was actually quite fun to do :)
i'm looking forward to your answers!
and, if someone wasn't tagged but would still like to participate, please do!
i love talking to new people...you learn so much.

hope you're all having a great weekend :)
vanessa

weekend round-up

although it's monday again (womp), the fact that i had a pretty fun weekend makes it all better.
after work on friday, i picked up my nephew (whom i'm obsessed with) from daycare and went out to dinner with him and my dad at our local kelsey's.
(my phone was dead (typical), so i was unable to snap any photos...)

after dinner, i came home and finally finished the final season of breaking bad (super late, i know) and i kid you not, this was my stance throughout the final four episodes:

*me too, aaron.
me too.

such a great series!
i didn't realize how invested i was in it until it was all over because now there's a void in my heart where jesse pinkman used to be, lol.
i need a new show to obsess over and am open to suggestions.

i hear "orange is the new black" is pretty good...

on saturday afternoon, i went out to a rebecca minkoff event at holt renfrew in toronto with my bff, avery.

rebecca herself was to show up and reveal her new collection of handbags.

as well, any rebecca minkoff purse that was purchased that day would be monogrammed for free (see image below)...

*photo belongs to holt renfrew toronto

being that i'm a lame homebody, i was super excited to have been invited.

i brought my camera to take photos galore but rebecca didn't even show up, so no shots were taken.

i spent saturday evening at the movies with avery and my other good friends raquel and alicia.

we went to go see "12 Years A Slave", a movie that generated a lot of buzz in the city when it was screened at the 2013 toronto international film festival.

the film was awarded the people's choice award at TIFF (past winners have been oscar contenders like the king's speech, slumdog millionaire, and silver lining's playbook.)

so, needless to say, i went into the movie with very high expectations.
for those who aren't familiar, the movie tells the heartbreaking story of solomon nothrup, a free-born african american who was sold into slavery and is based on his 1853 autobiography by the same name.

director steve mcqueen created a film that i can only describe as a riveting yet uncomfortable experience.
chiwetel ejiofor does a phenomenal job portraying solomon northrup and if i were him, i'd get my mantle ready for the oscar that is definitely coming his way.
from the second the film starts, you feel both empathetic yet empowered by the strength and resilience he demonstrates.

the part of the movie that really resonated with me was a scene where solomon is coming to grips with his circumstances and "breaks the fourth wall" - cinematic talk for when an actor stares directly into the camera's lens thus breaking the barrier between audience and film.
mcqueen holds the camera in an extreme close up of ejiofor's face for over a minute as he stands in complete silence.
they say the eyes are the windows to one's soul and in that moment, every ounce of pain and sorrow could be seen through his eyes. 

equally amazing and quite frankly terrifying, was michael fassbender's portrayal of slave owner, edwin epps.

whenever this man came on the screen, my body automatically tensed up.

and, i can't lie, i wanted to slap his wife, portrayed by sarah paulson, for her antics.

to quote drake, "worst".
and then there was lupita nyong'o and her gut wrenching portrayal of patsy, a young slave girl solomon encounters during his captivity. 

i could talk about this movie all day but i'll just leave you with this - if you have a chance to see this movie, do so!

this brings me to sunday morning which was pretty lowkey. 

i went to church where brother ike delivered a thought provoking sermon on the importance of setting your mind right.

after service, my family went out to lunch with a fellow church member, carrie and her mother, diane. 

we went to east side marios - my family's favorite - and had delicious italian food while we discussed the upcoming mission trip to haiti my parents and carrie are embarking on at the end of the month.

i got a chance to go last year and would looooooooooove to go back but alas, my exam schedule just won't allow me to do so.

i hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
here's to a great week!

:)
vanessa

ps. i'm not a proponent of war by any means but i do believe it is important to honor and thank the ones that fought and continue to fight for our freedom.

happy remembrance/veteran's day

give me your clothes (second edition)

the star of this edition of "give me your clothes" is my "favorite" kardashian, kourtney.

i can't lie...i've been known to keep up with the kardashians here and there.

although khloe's oneliners have me dying of laughter, i've always been a fan of kourtney's style.

whether she's gracing a red carpet or running errands, girl knows how to dress.

here are some of my favorite looks kourtney has worn:

and, let us not forget kourtney's best accessory, scott disick...

any kardashian fans out there?

if so, who's your fave?

i'm curious, haha.

:)

vanessa

but sometimes...

my sister introduced me to tori kelly months ago and i just fell i love with her voice.

if you're not too familiar with miss kelly, she is a singer-songwriter, who like many other artists today, got her start on youtube.

she recently dropped her debut ep and i just love the effortlessness of her songwriting style.

my favorite song on her album is "dear no one".

it has been on repeat for the past two weeks and i don't see that changing anytime soon.

as my other sister described it, it's kind of an in-between love song about being content with life but being ready for whenever that special person walks into it ...

happy monday!
:)

real talk.

i saw this and it made me laugh.
so, i thought i'd share...

this describes me to a t - if i do either one of these things for you, know that you're loved...or at least liked.

can anyone else relate?

hope you're all having a great weekend.

back to studying i go *lesigh.

:)

now you're just somebody that i used to know...

when i first started this blog, i told you all how i was so obsessed with quotes.
i posted one "quote of the day" and then never mentioned the topic again.
until today...

this quote/saying always makes me laugh as it's hilariously true.

when i sit back and think about the people i swore i could/would never live without, i shake my head in shame.

retrospect is everything, man.

hope y'all are having are happy wednesday!

:)
vanessa

who is malala?

"who is malala?" he demanded.

no one said anything, but several of the girls looked at me.

i was the only girl with my face uncovered.

that's when he lifted up a black pistol.
...i am malala.

i spent the past couple of days cramming and cursing the fact that i had three midterms in a two day period.
i dragged myself out of bed every morning and begrudgingly trekked down to campus.
and then i went to my local bookstore and read the first chapter of i am malala and instantly felt guilty.
here i was complaining about the one thing that nearly got this little girl killed - pursuing an education.

if you're not too familiar with the story of malala yousafzai, she is a pakistani schoolgirl who at the age of 15, was shot in the head and neck in an assassination attempt while returning home on a school bus. 

her crime?
being a girl and wanting an education.

there's a quote that i love that urges everyone to "be a voice for those who can't speak."

through her work with the united nations, malala is doing just that - being a voice for the other millions of girls around the world who are being denied an education.
because as malala simply put it, "we cannot succeed when half of us are held back."

so, the next time i find myself complaining about an upcoming assignment or finals, i will stop and think about how blessed i am to live in a country where i'm not only able but encouraged to pursue an education.

i leave you with malala's first speech at the united nations on her 16th birthday:
(it's quite lengthy but definitely worth the watch)

"let us pick up our books and pens.

they are our most powerful tools."

i also found this image online which warmed my heart:

malala's father beaming as he watches his daughter speak at the UN.

:)

vanessa